Territorial Terror

[CaptMicha]

How can I work with Clover on her cage territorial aggression? I can't even change her cuttle bone unless she's out of her cage. The only way I can do something with her in there is I have to grab something faster than she can get to my hand.

She even sticks her beak through the bars and gapes at me if my hand gets too close to her cage.

I tell Daisy no when she starts in with being territorially agressive and she stops (They're in seperate cages). So I don't really know what I did right and what I did wrong.

[bellarains]

Some birds are just more territorial than others. Clover may always be territorial, or she may get more used to you with time, and calm down a bit.

The one thing I did was, I put my hand in the cage, away from anything that Lacey considered "HERS", and just let it sit there for as long as she would allow. I have to tell ya though, Lacey is not an extreme territorial hen, at least not unless she has eggs:rolleyes: Anyway, the point is to teach them that your hands in the cage is not a threat. She may get it, or she may not. If not, then distraction is the best method;)

[linda040899]

I have to agree with Lori when she states that some hens are more territorial than others and it may never change. Look at it from a different perspective. Her cage is HER home. What would you do if a huge hand invaded your "space"? I respect the protectiveness of my birds, as I know I would do the same thing if the situation applied to me....

[BarbieH]

It is so natural for them to protect that cage! The only thing you can try to do is, like Lori said, distract her away from your hands. You can try to desensitize her, but with such a territorial bird, I don't know if I would risk it.

I like the idea of slow desenitization. Gracie was my bad-girl biter, but she has mellowed a lot with age. Also, she has come to learn that my hands only give her things, or do nice things for her comfort. The only way she could learn that was with every-day normal bird-care. Drop by drop, a bird's defenses are worn down by kindness.

Best wishes,

[CaptMicha]

Yeah, but I've had them for fives years and she never used to be so cage agressive.

And she seems to realize that it's okay when I give her cookies and toys of course!